Secrets in the Stacks

Title: Secrets in the Stacks
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Published: November 1st 2022 by Kensington Publishing
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 212 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Survivors' Book Club Mystery #2)

First Sentence: Rarity Cole stood beside the fireplace in her bookstore, surrounded by the chattering women of the Tuesday night Survivors’ Book Club.

Blurb: After an ominous Tarot reading, Sedona bookstore owner Rarity Cole must find a killer to keep her friend safe from harm—even if the cards are stacked against her.

Following her recovery from breast cancer, Rarity has embraced a life of healing and service in her Sedona, Arizona, community. She welcomes the opportunity to participate in the annual summer healing fair with her fittingly named new-age bookstore, The Next Chapter. The members of the Tuesday Night Survivors’ Book Club are also volunteering, maintaining a cooling station for overheated festivalgoers, and hosting a Tarot card reader for entertainment.

But one member, Darby, is anything but entertained when the Tarot reader pulls a Death card. With a mammogram coming up, she’s freaked out and goes home—only to walk into a crime scene where someone near and dear to her has been murdered. Despite the objections of Detective Drew Anderson, Rarity is determined to help her friend and protect her from being the killer’s next victim. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Though it was nice to revisit the Survivor’s Book Club, the plot was slow-moving. Then again, when it comes to this book, I am confused. Is Secrets in the Stacks women’s fiction with a murder on the side, or is it a murder mystery that puts the women of the book club as a priority?

The first three-quarters of the book puts the women’s stories first, then in the last quarter, Lynn Cahoon must have realized that she had a mystery to solve and gave it a disappointing mad dash race to the finish.

Granted, I read an ARC, but there were a few continuity issues that need clearing up, which I hope were taken care of before publication.

Bleeding Heart Yard

Title: Bleeding Heart Yard
Author: Elly Griffiths
Published: November 15th 2022 by Mariner Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 352 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Harbinder Kaur #3

First Sentence: Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

Blurb: When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job--as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

One day her husband finally persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School--among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them, Garfield Rice, is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As Garfield was an eminent--and controversial--MP and the investigation is high profile, it's headed by Cassie's new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can't shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

Is Cassie right, or was Garfield murdered by one of his political cronies? It's in Cassie's interest to skew the investigation so that it looks like it has nothing to do with Manor Park and she seems to be succeeding.

Until someone else from the reunion is found dead in Bleeding Heart Yard.

My Opinion: Unlike other mysteries, the who-done-it is not evident from the start. The plotting is reminiscent of the game where you must pick which cup hides the marble. Each character is brought to the front, and then just as quickly, they are replaced by another suspect. You have your suspicions, but then again it could be someone else.

With less than a hundred pages to go, I was narrowing it down to the most likely suspect. I kept returning to an overhead conversation -- where a comma could have made all the difference. And by the end, I was still wrong. You can’t call it an easily looked-over suspect since there were no clues. What you can call it is a master storyteller leading her audience down a path, and when you get to the end, you realize you had forgotten to keep track of one person.

I love Elly Griffiths’ writing; she has me running to dictionaries, taking notes, and making me wish I had paid better attention when studying the classics.

A Body at Lavender Cottage

Title: A Body at Lavender Cottage
Author: Dee MacDonald
Published: November 7th 2022 by Bookouture
Format: Kindle Edition, 251 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Kate Palmer #6

First Sentence: Kate Palmer, feeling all of her sixty-one years, yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stumbled into the kitchen of her Cornish Hillside cottage at six o’clock on a grey Sunday morning.

Blurb: Nurse Kate Palmer is Cornwall’s answer to Miss Marple! But when a body turns up in her own garden can Kate solve the crime? Or is the murder a bit too close to home?

Kate Palmer is stunned when she wakes up one morning to discover the body of a man in the beautiful garden of Lavender Cottage. She’s spent the last few years renovating her cozy, clifftop cottage with its gorgeous views of the sparkling Cornish sea. And a death right under her nose is more than a little unsettling…

When Woody Forrest, Kate’s new husband and the village’s retired detective inspector, takes a closer look he realises the victim is none other than Frank Ford – Woody’s old nemesis. Now, Frank is lying dead amongst the daisies… strangled with Woody’s blue police tie.

Kate is certain the man she loves is not a murderer and is determined to prove his innocence. But who would want to kill Frank and frame Woody? As Kate investigates, Frank’s family seem to be the obvious suspects. Could it be Jason Ford, the youngest son, who has an odd obsession with birdwatching? Sid Kinsella, the angry father-in-law? Or Sharon Mason, the troublesome daughter?

When another member of the Ford family bites the dust while Woody is tending his allotment, it’s clear the killer is determined to bury Woody’s reputation. But when a chance conversation on Bluebell Road provides Kate with a clue, she must find a woman named Rose, who could hold the answers Kate is looking for.

But Kate needs to dig up the truth – and fast! – before poor Woody is thrown behind bars. Can she solve the case and save her husband before it’s too late?

My Opinion: Anyone following this series will enjoy A Body at Lavender Cottage, and for those who are new, the author does a good job of quickly catching readers up.

Not a deep or twisty mystery series, but I love visiting Kate, Angie, and Woody. Unfortunately, the secondary storyline did not appear until a third of the way in, and once it emerged, the “who done it” part was apparent. There were no red herrings or misleading the reader since the overall story marched in a straight line.

The only downfall was the ending. Though the reader figured out early who the killer was, after the official reveal, the book was suddenly over. There was not the usual rehashing and putting on a final bow or even a tidbit that would entice the reader into eagerly anticipating the new book in the series.

A Trace of Poison

Title: A Trace of Poison
Author: Colleen Cambridge
Published: October 25th 2022 by Kensington Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Phyllida Bright Mystery #2

First Sentence: “I just don’t see any way around it. He’s simply got to be done away with”, said a hushed voice.

Blurb: Phyllida Bright, housekeeper for Agatha Christie, must uncover a killer among a throng of crime writers.

In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer . . .

The neighboring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party—managed by the inimitable Phyllida—when murder strikes too close even for her comfort.

It’s a mystery too intriguing for Phyllida to resist, but one fraught with duplicity and danger, for every guest is an expert in murder—and how to get away with it. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Disappointing. The beginning of the book is full of excessive names and drawn-out descriptions, leaving the reader to wonder what is important and what is filler fluff.

A lover of mysteries will have the perpetrator figured out early on since it was obvious after the first few chapters. Having reached my fill of monotony, I had to give up and jump to the end to confirm my suspension and then marked this book as a DNF.

I enjoyed Murder at Mallowan Hall, the first book in the series, and was let down with this book since A Trace of Poison did not equal Colleen Cambridge’s earlier novel.

Devil's Delight

Title:Devil's Delight
Author: M.C. Beaton, R.W. Green
Expected Publication: December 13th 2022 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 256 pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Agatha Raisin #33

First Sentence: He was naked. Some people are easily shocked. Agatha Raisin would never count herself as one of those people.

Blurb: Toni and Agatha are in the car on their way to Officer Bill Wong’s long-awaited wedding when, much to their shock, a naked young man bursts through a hedge on the side of the road and comes running toward them.

Terrified, he explains that he has just seen a dead body in the woods. Toni lends him an old t-shirt to cover himself, Agatha calls the police, and the young man takes them to the spot where he saw the body, across from a meadow where the Mircester Naturist Club is due to have its annual summer barbecue.

The young man, Edward, explains that he is the club’s social convenor and had arrived early to set things up. He says he found the body at the edge of the woods, near an ancient stone known as The Lone Warrior and said to have once been used as a sacrificial altar.

When they reach the spot, however, there is nothing on the large, flat rock except a small wet patch. Even that has dried up by the time the police arrive, and Chief Inspector Wilkes accuses Agatha of wasting police time on a prank.

But Agatha and Toni grow suspicious after meeting some of the club’s members, whose diverse interests range from artisanal ice cream to ancient curses. And when another disappearance occurs, it’s up to them to put together the pieces…or end up on the altar themselves.(GoodReads)

My Opinion: R.W. Green has had some mighty large Beaton shoes to fill -- his first book, Hot to Trot was a disaster, Down the Hatch was closer to M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin, and now Devil’s Delight seems to be closing in on the books I enjoy.

The paragraph structure is not my favorite, with an extra sentence here and there that doesn’t belong and reads more along the lines of talking down to his audience or a lackluster form of humor; we get it R.W.; we can read between the lines.

I am unsure if Agatha is finally coming into her own since she has always been a force of nature, but there is a change in her. Will this change continue? The reader certainly hopes so, but time will tell if she will fall back into her usual of chasing the wrong men -- at least the newest isn’t named James, Jim, or Jimmy. Then again, how will Agatha handle a relationship with a mature man and not the usual man-child she seems to be attracted to?

The Zero Night

Title: The Zero Night
Author: Brian Freeman
Published: November 1st 2022 by Blackstone Publishing
Format: Hardcover, 350 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Jonathan Stride #11

First Sentence: The man with the briefcase sat on a bench in the drowning rain.

Blurb: A woman has been kidnapped.Now Jonathan Stride must decide if her husband wants her back ... dead or alive.

After nearly dying of a gunshot wound, Jonathan Stride has been on leave from the Duluth Police for more than a year. When his partner, Maggie Bei, gets called about a suspicious abduction involving a local lawyer, she tells Stride it's time for him to come back.

Attorney Gavin Webster says he paid $100,000 in ransom money to the men who kidnapped his wife. Now they've disappeared with the cash, and she's still missing. Gavin claims to be desperate to find her--but Stride discovers that the lawyer had plenty of motive to be the mastermind behind the crime.

Even as Stride digs for the truth about Gavin Webster and his wife, he must also deal with a crisis in his own marriage.

His wife, Serena, is struggling after the death of her mother, the abusive woman she hadn't seen in twenty-five years. When she loses control at a crime scene and draws her gun on a fellow cop, Serena finds herself kicked off the Webster case. Alone at her desk, she begins hunting through old police files and starts to ask questions about a mother's death that was written off as suicide. That death haunts Serena like an echo of her own childhood--but her obsession with it takes a terrible toll.

As Serena shuts him out of her despair, and his own investigation grows increasingly tangled, Stride wonders whether going back to his detective work was the right decision. But all he can do is keep moving forward. Because Stride fears the Webster kidnapping may be only one part of a horrific murder conspiracy.

And it's not over yet. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: What is there not to love about a Brian Freeman novel? Anyone familiar with the author’s work knows there will be two or more differing storylines, as unrelated as they can be, which will soon converge; you don’t know when or how.

For me, Strider’s storyline took a backseat, and Serena took centerstage. While reading this book, you discover that you will not like all the characters, but they play their part in bringing Serena long-deserved peace.

While Serena may have to begin again, with her support team in place, she will thrive.

A Bad Lie

Title: A Bad Lie
Author: Matthew Costello, Neil Richards
Published: January 11th 2016 by Bastei Entertainment
Format: Kindle, 104 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Series: Cherringham #23

First Sentence: Ryan Collins watched his mates pile out of his hire car—a big Ford Galaxy.

Blurb: When talented young artist Josh Andrews goes missing after a stag night prank at Cherringham Golf Club, the bride in desperation asks Jack and Sarah to find him. It seems he's gotten cold feet, with the wedding just days away.

But Josh is not all he appears to be ... And soon suspicion falls on the Golf Club itself. Can Josh be found before he takes justice into his own hands?

My Opinion: Everyone has secrets, you just hope they don’t rise to the surface when you are planning your wedding.

Jack and Sarah are at it again, and this time I am not so sure the cold feet are only on the part of Josh Andrews. This subject causes me to take a left turn and wish I knew which relationship direction the investigating duo is heading. Yet each time they take a step ahead, there seems to be a couple of steps back. Glad I like their camaraderie when it comes to matching wits with criminals since their relationship is quickly heading into the vexation stage for the reader.

I am reaching the point in the series where I don’t care as much about the murders as I do about the interactions among the main characters. There is no doubt I will continue reading since I like how they put the pieces together and are slowly making other realizations.

Sometimes People Die

Title: Sometimes People Die
Author: Simon Stephenson
Published: September 20th 2022 by Hanover Square Press
Format: Kindle, 368 pages
Genre: Medical Thriller

First Sentence: There are many storied hospitals in London, venerated institutions where scientific breakthroughs are made and legendary physicians name unfortunate diseases after themselves.

Blurb: Returning to practice after a suspension for stealing opioids, a young doctor takes the only job he can find: a post as a physician at the struggling St. Luke's Hospital in east London. Amid the maelstrom of sick patients, overworked staff and underfunded wards, a more insidious secret soon declares itself: too many patients are dying. And a murderer may be lurking in plain sight.

Drawing on his experiences as a physician, Simon Stephenson takes readers into the dark heart of life as a hospitalist to ask the question: Who are the people we gift the power of life and death, and what does it do to them? (GoodReads)

My Opinion: A slow simmer that never reached a full boil. Just when you thought there was a chance for a few rapid bubbles, Simon Stephenson turned down the heat leaving the reader in a semi-obvious state of who had done it with only a few “oh” moments.

The sidenotes of known healthcare serial killers were interesting but left the reader wondering if a deeper dive into those mentioned would have been more captivating.

As for the ending – was there an ending? Or was the reader supposed to be left unfulfilled and wondering if the state of healthcare, where the bottom line and passing killers on, is more important than murder?

Then again, maybe the title did tell the whole story.

The Plot and the Pendulum

Title: The Plot and the Pendulum
Author: Jenn McKinlay
Published: October 11th 2022 by Berkley
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 272 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Library Lover's Mystery #13

First Sentence: Lindsey Norris, director of the Briar Creek Public Library, was seated at the reference desk gazing out the window overlooking the bay and the archipelago call the Thumb Islands.

Blurb: Library director Lindsey Norris is happy to learn the Briar Creek Public Library is the beneficiary of the Dorchester family’s vast book collection. However, when Lindsey and the library staff arrive at the old Victorian estate to gather the books, things take a sinister turn. One of the bookcases reveals a secret passage, leading to a room where a skeleton is found, clutching an old copy of The Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Lindsey does a quick check of missing persons, using the distinctive 80s era clothing worn by the deceased to determine a time frame, and discovers that Briar Creek has an unsolved missing person’s case from 1989. A runaway bride went missing just weeks after her wedding. No suspects were ever arrested and the cold case remains unsolved. Lindsey and the crafternoon crew decide that justice is overdue and set about solving the old murder mystery, using some novel ideas to crack the case. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The title is a play on words to Edgar Alan Poe’s, The Pit and the Pendulum, which parallels the spooky feel of a found skeleton, a hidden room, drafts, a disappearing cat, and scream-inducing power outages in a creepy mansion in Briar Creek. Which makes for a perfect autumn read.

If the reader is paying attention, the culprit is revealed midway through the book, yet you hang on to make sure you did pick up on the tell. Do I wish that the author had added a couple more diversions and possibilities – I do, but that is not how these things work.

Library Lover's Mystery series has been a hit or miss for me. The Plot and the Pendulum was a hit.

Crime for the Books

Title: Crime for the Books
Author: Kate Young
Published: October 11th 2022 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Jane Doe Book Club Mystery #3

First Sentence: The clouds looked ominous as I walked our client out of the office and locked the door.

Blurb: Lyla Moody and her book club, the Jane Does, are hosting a Halloween party at Magnolia Manor, tailored after Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced, but when the lights come on after the staged murder, a real victim lies dead with a gunshot wound in her chest. The victim was an estranged relative of Elaine Morgan, operator of the B&B, who’d earlier been seen arguing with her about the fate of the property. Suspicion immediately falls on Elaine, and she’s arrested.

The Jane Does believe Elaine is innocent, and when they get the chance to team up with police officer Rosa Landry—a member of the club—they jump on it. But then, the club discovers that two more murders have been brazenly predicted online and in the Sweet Mountain Gazette—and that one of the intended victims is Rosa.

Lyla thinks she knows who the killer is, but the only way to find out is by laying a trap using Rosa as bait. But, like an Agatha Christie mystery, the truth is never what it seems. Lyla and her trusty book club will have to sleuth out the killer before Rosa meets her final chapter. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: I read to the middle of the book and skimmed the next part, and to be honest -- I am not sure if I finished it.

Monotonous. No part or character stuck out as remarkable or intriguing, and I am now wondering what I liked about the first two books in the series. There must have been something that had me willing to pick up this third book, yet I can’t recall what it was.

Will I look for another Jane Doe book? I doubt it since my reading habits are changing, and I need a bit more when it comes to amateur sleuths.

The Girls on the Shore

Title: The Girls on the Shore
Author: Ann Cleeves
Published: January 11th 2022 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle Edition, 36 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Two Rivers #2.5

Blurb: It was winter. Cold and clear, a different sort of day for this coast where the westerly winds usually blew rain and cloud.

Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is standing by his kitchen window when he first spots them. Two young girls, facing away from him, seemingly staring towards something in the distance. They are holding hands, and they are alone.

Though not a natural with children, Matthew knows he must find out why the girls are here, on a school day, unsupervised. And so he meets Olivia and Imogen, a pair of sisters whose secrets Matthew must uncover if he hopes to get them home.

My Opinion: I love a book with a good plot twist. Ann Cleeves takes advantage of the reader’s assumption as to whom the perpetrator is, and just when you become complacent, there comes the twist.

I enjoy the Two Rivers series. I have only watched the Shetland and Vera series and know that adaptations wander too far from the written word, so I can only do one or the other, and I am glad I went with the written version of Two Rivers. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn has his own form of damage, but that is what makes him and his team so endearing. They bring compassion, and that is what draws me back.

Anne, take as much time as you need to get to the next book; I will be here waiting.

Found Object

Title: Found Object

Author: Anne Frasier
Published: October 18th 2022 by Thomas & Mercer
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 272 pages
Genre: Suspense
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: I looked down at the release form on the desk, my main focus being the empty line awaiting my signature.

Blurb: A journalist begins to question everything she knows about her mother’s murder in a startling novel of suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Body Reader.

Culpable in an exposé gone tragically wrong, investigative journalist Jupiter Bellarose takes her boss’s advice: head back to her hometown for a fluff piece and get her world in balance. But in Savannah, the past is waiting.

Twenty years ago Jupiter’s mother, actress and celebrated beauty Marie Nova, was murdered, leaving many in her wake: Jupiter’s father, who has erased memories of his wife’s murder with alcohol. The matriarch of the cosmetics company who helped make Marie a star—and who takes every opportunity to reopen old wounds. Then there’s the fragile cop with blood on his hands, and the killer whose confession no longer seems convincing.

With so many lingering questions, Jupiter must revisit the grisly event that has influenced every decision in her life. Maybe her homecoming will bring closure.

Or maybe the worst is yet to come. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Beginning with the origin of the title, the reader is quickly taken to the “what?” moments, the “well, that was an interesting way to relay information” moments, and the “wait, what is Anne Fraser letting me know?” moments. There are many moving parts, and when you think you might have, you realize you don’t, and you quite possibly have been wandering down the wrong path all along. Not a book to rush, the reader will need to sit down and read in large chunks and ponder, or they will miss the cleverly hidden subtleties.

Anne Frasier is a relatively new author for me. Beginning with the Inland Empire series, I knew I had found an author who can grab me from the beginning, with twists and subtle humor, and won’t let me go until the last chapter.

Will Anne Frasier turn this into another successful series? I certainly hope so since there are many stories investigative journalist Jupiter needs to tell.

Daggers at the Country Fair

Title: Daggers at the Country Fair
Author: Catherine Coles
Published: September 26, 2022 by Boldwood Books
Format: Kindle, 212 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Martha Miller Mysteries #2

First Sentence: The bus trundled along the village lanes towards its destination.

Blurb: As a thank you for her previous brilliant crime solving, amateur sleuth, Martha Miller is guest of honour at the Winteringham Country Fair. However, this time she is looking forward to simply judging dog shows and eating cream teas rather than apprehending a killer!

And Martha is just beginning to enjoy spending quality time with Vicar Luke Walker away from the prying eyes and gossips of her own village, when disaster strikes, and the local teenage femme fatale is found stabbed to death behind the tea tent by Martha’s trusted red setter Lizzie!

But who would want to kill such a young girl and why? Someone in the village has secrets to hide and it seems Martha and Luke have another case to solve! (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Ruth? Lizzie? Which is the sister and which is the dog? Good thinking on the author’s part to put a long character list at the beginning of the book for those of us who tend to mix people, and animals, up.

Slow through the first three-quarters of the book with no spark, humor, or interesting side notes. It isn’t until the end of the book that the who-done-it starts to pique attention -- a little too late since the culprit could have only been two people, and eventually, it occurred to you that one had no motive.

I enjoyed the first book in the series, Poison at the Village Show, but this second book had me questioning if I care what is in store for Martha Miller and Vicar Luke Walker from Westleham.

The Winners

Title: The Winners
Author: Fredrik Backman
Published: September 27th 2022 by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 684 Pages
Genre: Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Beartown #3

First Sentence: Everyone who knew Benjamin Ovich, particularly those of us who knew him well enough to call him Benji, probably knew deep down that he was never the sort of person who would get a happy ending.

Blurb: Two years have passed since the events that no one wants to think about. Everyone has tried to move on, but there’s something about this place that prevents it. The residents continue to grapple with life’s big questions: What is a family? What is a community? And what, if anything, are we willing to sacrifice in order to protect them?

As the locals of Beartown struggle to overcome the past, great change is on the horizon. Someone is coming home after a long time away. Someone will be laid to rest. Someone will fall in love, someone will try to fix their marriage, and someone will do anything to save their children. Someone will submit to hate, someone will fight, and someone will grab a gun and walk towards the ice rink.

So what are the residents of Beartown willing to sacrifice for their home?

Everything.

My Opinion: Of course, I could not get through the first chapter without tearing up. Backman has a way of getting to the heart of the matter, but still leaves more exploring to do. I was glad there was a brief refresher of the previous two books since it has been four years since 'Us Against You' was published.

This book is a commitment. At almost 700 pages, where the atmosphere is as much a character as the community of quirky and damaged people. No matter how much a person tries to get away, Beartown and Hed bring their people home. With a beloved member dead, those that have gotten away will find themselves drawn back, and the old wounds will be ripped open for yet another challenge to their grit and fortitude.

When a second death occurs, the town has decisions to make and secrets to keep. More tears, both the town and the reader, will be shed. Backman ties up the loose ends, but it is a bittersweet ending since many have finally found their happiness in a town that has only given them grief.

Murder on the Poet's Walk

Title: Murder on the Poet's Walk
Author: Ellery Adams
Published: September 27th 2022 by Kensington
Format: Kindle, Paperback 352 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Book Retreat Mysteries #8

First Sentence: Jane Steward always looked forward to afternoon tea, but never more so than today.

Blurb: When corpses clutching poems begin turning up around Storyton Hall, resort manager Jane Steward is on the trail of someone exercising poetic license to kill.

As Jane eagerly anticipates the wedding of her best friend Eloise Alcott, Storyton Hall is overrun with poets in town to compete for a coveted greeting card contract. They’re everywhere, scrawling verses on cocktail napkins in the reading rooms or seeking inspiration strolling the Poet’s Walk, a series of trails named after famous authors. But the Tennyson Trail leads to a grim surprise: a woman’s corpse drifting in a rowboat on a lake, a crumpled copy of “The Lady of Shallot” in her lifeless fist.

When a second body is discovered, also holding a page from a poetry book, a recurring MO emerges. Fortunately, Jane is well versed in sleuthing and won’t rest until she gives the killer a taste of poetic justice. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: I was surprised I liked this book as much as I did. There were a few annoyances, namely, why didn’t Jane turn on the flashlight app on her phone when she was confronted by an unfamiliar person in a dark confined space; and why did she run to the restroom to wash her hands instead of waiting for help to arrive, and to see who followed her out? Granted, this would have ended the story too soon, but there could have been a workaround.

I enjoy how Ellery Adams brings in authors, titles, and quotes to enhance her narratives and to remind her readers that Storyton is all about the world of the written arts. Usually, readers should start a series from the beginning, but midway through the Book Retreat series, Adams took a slight left turn from where she began. Not in a bad way, but there was a new focus, so the series order might not be as crucial as it once was.

From time to time, I wish there was an actual Storyton. I could use a vacation with no electronics, beautiful gardens, walking trails, and uninterrupted reading.

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

Title: Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
Authors: Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse, and Ruth Ware
Published: September 13th 2022 by William Morrow & Company
Format: Hardcover, 384 pagess
Genre: Short Mysteries

Blurb: A collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Mystery’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.

This collection of a dozen original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: I’m not sure how to review an anthology of short stories. Some stories are more compelling than others. Some hit Miss Marple spot on. Some authors were new to me, and others were old friends. I did have to laugh aloud at some of the situations, which made this a joy to read. And one had a twist at the beginning that had me shaking my head.

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, this is a must-read, you may need to leave a few of your “Not my Miss Marple” preconceptions at the door, but that is what this book is all about. If you are unfamiliar with the compilation, the authors take you into a reimagined world of Jane Marple. A woman who doesn’t miss the subtleties; and reveals to the reader the parts that make up the whole.

The Final Equinox

Title: The Final Equinox
Author: Andrew Mayne
Published: September 13th 2022 by Thomas & Mercer
Format: Kindle, 336 pages
Genre: Suspense
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood #2

First Sentence: The suspect’s body lies on the table before me.

Blurb: Dr. Theo Cray and FBI agent Jessica Blackwood follow a deadly celestial trail in a thrilling novel by the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Mastermind.

A signal is detected at the outer edge of the solar system. Computational biologist Dr. Theo Cray and magician-turned-FBI-agent Jessica Blackwood are looking—and listening—a little closer.

The man at the center of this cosmic mystery is billionaire Thomas T. Theismann. He’s spent a lifetime—and a fortune—trying to find out if we’re alone in the universe. Highly skeptical, Theo joins the effort to find the source of the signal, and he quickly enlists Jessica to look into the suspicious death of another academic at the lab. As their investigations converge, they uncover curious connections to the otherworldly contact, including a 1970s science-fiction writer and the body of an astronaut found buried in an ancient tomb.

As they delve into Theismann’s history, Theo and Jessica’s fascination with the signal intensifies. How dangerous will the investigation get? That depends on how deep into the unknown Theo and Jessica are prepared to venture. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: It always takes me a long time to get into an Andrew Mayne novel. Instead of accepting the science, theories, and references at face value, I am hopping onto the internet and diving into the more curious parts.

To understand Theo, and his unconventional ways, start his books from the beginning. I was not introduced to Jessica until she first met up with Theo, and I do not think I have missed too much of her past. The left turns in this book will keep the reader fascinated, and knowing all points will merge, does not diminish their individualism and the reader's joy in bouncing back and forth.

Are some parts farfetched? Of course, but that is the beauty of the writing and Theo in particular. His mind does not work like everyone else's and his perception, and naivete of the world, take the reader through the real, and the imagined, with a great deal of humor on the side.

By all means, Theo, help those in need, not self-indulgent billionaires and their dreams of world domination.

Hell and Back

Title: Hell and Back
Author: Craig Johnson
Published: September 20th 2022 by Viking
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Series: Longmire #18

First Sentence: There was a sound of bells and then silence – the kind of quiet that only comes with snow, capturing the soundwaves of life and smothering them before they can cry out.

Blurb: Picking up where Daughter of the Morning Star left off, the next Longmire novel finds the sheriff digging further into the mysteries of "the wandering without"--a mythical all-knowing spiritual being that devours souls.

Walt thinks he might find the answers he's looking for among the ruins of an old Native American boarding school--an institution designed to strip Native children of their heritage. He has been haunted by the image of the Fort Pratt Industrial Indian Training School ever since he first saw a faded postcard picturing a hundred boys in uniform, in front of a large, ominous building--a postcard that was given to him by Jimmy Lane, the father of Jeanie One Moon.

After Walt's initial investigation into Jeanie's disappearance yielded no satisfying conclusions, Walt has to confront the fact that he may be dealing with an adversary unlike any he has ever faced before.

My Opinion: Craig Johnson digs deep into Walt Longmire’s past to bring the reader face to face with Walt’s nemeses from past books and reveals a place in between, Fort Pratt, a town of Walt’s dead, where fiction meets science fiction with a western gothic romance twinge and a bit of horror on the side.

Without reading the previous seventeen books in the series, a first-time reader will get lost and not truly appreciate the depth of the narrative. Long-time readers are reminded of Walt’s history with Martha to Mallow Cups to Bidarte, and all the others along the way. As the book states, all haunting is regret, and Walt’s grief is waiting for him in a small Montana town. Walt will continue to face his burdens, and will continue to do so, even if it means an endless cycle of knowing The Wandering Without is just around the next corner.

This turned out to be one of my favorite books in the series. It’s not the typical police procedural that Craig Johnson is known for, but from time to time, it’s good to shake things up a bit.

Blood Lure

Title: Blood Lure
Author: Nevada Barr
Published: 2001 by Putnam Adult
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Genre: Mystery
Series: Anna Pigeon #9

First Sentence: With the exception of a nine-week-old Australian shepherd puppy, sniffing and whining as if he’d discovered a treasure chest and sought a way inside, everyone was politely pretending Anna didn’t stink.

Blurb: While studying grizzly bears in Waterton/Glacier National Peace Park on the border of Montana and Canada, ranger Anna Pigeon finds herself in the midst of a series of deadly bear attacks that leave her struggling to re-evaluate her own view of nature. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: To be honest, I have no idea how Anna has survived from one book to the next. I have lost count of her sprains, strains, and concussions. Yet she survives only to face another close call in a new state park.

Midway through, I still had no idea where this book was going or when we would get there. When we arrived, I questioned the ending. Really? All that was missing was a tutu and a tricycle. I expected more from Nevada Barr. Maybe that is on me. I should learn to appreciate the narrative and the history and science involved.

Luckily, the conclusion wrapped things up, and I am glad there was a happily ever after, but still, one does wonder if Balthazar's story was planned or convenient.

Bound by Murder

Title: Bound by Murder
Author: Laura Gail Black
Published: September 6th 2022 by Crooked Lane Books
Format: Kindle Edition, 288 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Antique Bookshop Mystery #3

First Sentence: “Life is sweet”. Mason stood in the open doorway to my used and antique bookstore, Twice Upon a Time, staring across the cobbled street toward The Weeping Willow.

Blurb: The birds are singing, books are selling, and the Hokes Bluff Inn has begun to host weddings on its property. Antiquarian bookseller Jenna Quinn loves the romance in the air—until her ex-fiancé, Blake Emerson, walks in with his bride-to-be, Missy Plott. Blake continues to profess his love for Jenna if she’ll have him back, no matter the consequences. And the consequences are grave, indeed, when Missy turns up dead.

All evidence points to Blake, who was the last one to see her alive. He begs Jenna to help him clear his name. Blake’s mother, Cordelia, is also bent on exonerating her son. Jenna doesn’t believe that Blake could have killed Missy, and she starts digging for suspects. It could have been Missy’s ex-boyfriend, who proclaims a love for her he says only death could sever. Or might it have been Missy’s bitter “best friend,” who was secretly besotted with Missy’s ex.

Then, the police find evidence from a cold case years before—a case that had falsely implicated Jenna herself. Cordelia continues to beg Jenna to help prove her son’s innocence. Could Blake truly be innocent?

Jenna’s life is on the line in a final confrontation that will either prove Blake’s innocence—or damn them both. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: With a slow start, the usual boyfriend detective, and a relationship conflict midway through, Laura Gail Black takes her readers back to Hoke Foley, the bookstore, and an unexpected visit from Jenna’s ex-finance. The same ex who discarded her when she was accused and eventually acquitted of embezzlement, causing her to leave Charleston and start over in the bookstore she inherited from her uncle.

A few chapters in, the body appears, and Jenna, once again, is both suspect and amateur sleuth. The book follows the same predictable cozy mystery pattern and could have benefited from a subplot or two and fewer repetitive descriptions and actions.

As the book lumbers along, the reader may find themselves skimming. Then the last ten percent answers all the questions yet leaves the lingering question --- is this a series they would want to continue?

A Vacation to Die For

Title: A Vacation to Die For
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Published: September 6th 2022
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 234 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: A Tourist Trap Mystery #14

First Sentence: Mayor Marvin Baylor’s excitement made the tone of his voice rise even higher than his normal, birdlike chirp.

Blurb: Hustling her fiancé off to a neighboring tourist town might be the only way Jill Gardner can plan her nuptials to South Cove’s in-demand police detective. But when a mystery man turns up dead at South Cove’s PD, Greg is hightailing it back home to investigate, leaving Jill to finish the vacation solo.

Jill can barely get in a spa day before her own respite is spoiled by a greedy hotel guest and unexpected revelations about Max Winter, the developer conniving to buy her home out from under her. Then there’s the staffing issues at the store, the strange men seen lurking about town, and an aggressive and obnoxious family member harassing Jill’s beloved employee. It’s enough to make the bride-to-be full of jitters . . . especially when she finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer, (GoodReads)

My Opinion: *Maybe I missed it in the previous 13 books, but Greg is a detective in a small tourist town on the coastal highway in California, only because the mayor doesn’t want to give him the title and salary of a police chief. I honestly don’t remember that ever being mentioned before, but now it makes sense why South Cove, with an abundance of murders and body dumps, requires a detective. I also wonder why they need a detective since Jill Gardener, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, tends to solve all the murders, and Greg is always a step behind.

Jill and Greg head out on a vacation of sorts as they try and plan their upcoming nuptials, only to have (not surprising) Greg called back early. Then add in the confusion of detective, almost police chief, Greg asking his barista girlfriend to step in and investigate for him and then getting mad when she digs up information. Honestly, the junior high antics of these two are beginning to wear on me.

Even though you knew the names of the culprits and where the story was going, the ending still felt rushed. There are a few continuity issues and places where Lynn Cahoon could have done a little more research; overall, the book wasn’t bad. Not the best of the cozy mystery genre, but after 13 previous books, the reader gets used to the people of South Cove, and it’s nice to check in with them again.

Where will the two of them head next? No way of telling with a ten-week premarital financial seminar on the horizon and two adults that can’t seem to find time for each other yet can step on each other’s toes.

A Colorful Scheme

Title: A Colorful Scheme
Author: Krista Davis
Published: August 30th 2022
Format: Kindle, Paperback, 328 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Pen & Ink Mysteries #4

First Sentence: I thought someone had been following me, so when Mr. Dubois shouted and banged on the door of the carriage house, I was momentarily alarmed.

Blurb: Coloring-book creator and Washington, DC, bookstore owner Florrie Fox is attending the wedding of her wealthy boss and a famous romance author, who are taking their vows—for the second time—on the grounds of the gorgeous Maxwell mansion. But it soon becomes clear that the soothing vibe of coloring books is very different from the stress and backstabbing in some corners of the literary world.

Arthur Bedlingham, for example, barely makes a living despite the many awards he’s won—and his chances for better sales haven’t been helped by the vicious review he just got from another guest at the party. Then there’s an ex–FBI agent whose popular thrillers are a magnet for female fans; a less-successful romance writer; and an ambitious waitress who’s intent on a career in journalism.

When Arthur’s assistant, an aspiring writer, is murdered during the festivities, Florrie realizes this is no color-by-numbers case, and she’ll have to sort out the complicated secrets among this creative crowd of suspects. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: What an odd book. Using THC as a prelude to murder, Rohypnol on seniors, and a murder on the streets of Georgetown where no one thought to look at security cameras. Once you get past the oddities, the story has a nice flow.

I love the new character of Jezebel and hope that she has a recurring role. She brings humor and lightness to the book that was missing. As for the other characters, I knew it was going to be a challenge when Krista Davis began the book with a list. Unfortunately, a few seem to blend and I found myself trying to sort them out.

As for the overall story, it was enjoyable, I did wonder about one aspect since it was glaringly obvious, but it quickly became background fodder until the author tied up all the bows and revealed how authors can be what audiences crave.

A Colorful Scheme has me liking the Pen & Ink series again, and I will look for Florrie and her friends in the future.

A Treacherous Tale

Title: A Treacherous Tale
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Published: August 23rd 2022 by St. Martin's Paperbacks
Format: Kindle, 320 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: The Cambridge Bookshop Series #2

First Sentence: Books, books, glorious books.

Blurb: Lately, Molly has been feeling that she might have fallen into a fairy tale: she's reinvigorated the family bookshop Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios, made friends in her new home of Cambridge, England, and is even developing a bit of a romance with the handsome Kieran—a bike shop owner with a somewhat intimidating family pedigree.

Having recently discovered The Strawberry Girls, a classic children's tale, Molly is thrilled to learn the author, Iona York, lives nearby. But while visiting the famous author at her lovely cottage in nearby Hazelhurst, an old acquaintance of Iona's tumbles off her roof to his death.

Then, when one of Iona’s daughters—an inspiration for the original Strawberry Girls—goes missing, Molly begins to worry this story might be more Brothers Grimm than happily-ever-after. Especially after Molly learns about the mysterious long-ago death of Iona’s husband and co-author of The Strawberry Girls…could past and present crimes be linked? Molly must put the clues together before someone turns this sweet tale sour.

My Opinion: A story within a story, one for adults and one a child’s book -- which work in concert to reveal those involved in two murders.

The timeframe confused me. The book is supposed to be the current day, but occasional word usage came across as lingo from decades ago. Additionally, Elizabeth Penney is heavy-handed and redundant when describing the general area leaving the reader scanning until something new appears.

Cozy Mysteries/amateur sleuths aren’t for everyone, but I like the mental break after a hectic week.

I Remember You

Title: I Remember You
Author: Brian Freeman
Published: August 9th 2022 by Thomas & Mercer
Format: Kindle, 384 pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller / Science Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: How bad was that July 4? Let me count the ways.

Blurb: On the Fourth of July, Hallie Evers dies at a rooftop party in Las Vegas.

Hours later, she wakes up in the hospital, disoriented but alive. Why can’t she find the doctor who revived her? Why does her head feel crowded and loud? Why do her memories feel both foreign and familiar? Her self-doubt spirals into crippling paranoia.

Hallie knows that mental illness runs in her family—her mother suffered from delusions that led to an early death. But now even Hallie’s dreams are fraught with details that seem like more than imagination—vivid images of a city she remembers but has never visited in her life. As she embarks on a cross-country search for answers, Hallie catches glimpses of what feel like another person’s memories. It’s a dark, horrifying, tragic vision…of someone else’s murder.

But is any of it real? (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Brian Freeman has a way of grabbing you from the beginning with no extra fluff or meandering narrative and with rabbit trails as dizzying as Hallie’s dreams. The science seemed a bit farfetched and the technology did have me wondering about possibilities, but I was in for this ride no matter where it took me.

As I was reading, I couldn’t figure out what the flame would be that had ignited the anger and the fury. Then out of nowhere, Brian Freeman began to close the loop. Twist after twist the author brings us to the edge of the cliff. To a place that will show Hallie --- How could I not put that together? The clue was there from the beginning.

The ending is a kaleidoscope of all the parts coming together and the reverberation of what is left.

No matter if you read Freeman’s stand-alone books or delve into his series, you will not be disappointed in this book or his previous works.

Long Gone

Title: Long Gone
Author: Joanna Schaffhausen
Published: August 9th 2022 by Minotaur Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 304 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Detective Annalisa Vega #2

First Sentence: Prologue: When the other two didn’t come back for more than ten minutes, he went to look for them.

Blurb: Chicago detective Annalisa Vega shattered her life, personally and professionally, when she turned in her ex-cop father for his role in a murder. Her family can’t forgive her. Her fellow officers no longer trust her. So when detective Leo Hammond turns up dead in a bizarre murder, Annalisa thinks she has nothing to lose by investigating whatever secrets he hid behind the thin blue line.

Annalisa quickly zeroes in on someone who had good reason to want Hammond dead: a wealthy, fast-talking car salesman who’d gotten away with murder once and wasn’t about to let Hammond take a second shot. Moe Bocks remains the number one suspect in his girlfriend’s brutal unsolved death, and now he’s got a new woman in his sights—Annalisa’s best friend.

Annalisa is desperate to protect her friend and force Bocks to pay, either for Hammond’s death or his earlier crime. But when no one else believes the connection, she takes increasingly risky chances to reveal the truth. Because both Hammond and Bocks had secrets to die for, and if she doesn’t untangle them soon, Annalisa will be next. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: Though the previous book was released a year ago, in book years, that is a long time, and I wished Joanna Schaffhausen had done a better job in refreshing the reader's memory. There are bits and pieces sprinkled throughout, but it would have been easier to give a paragraph review and then add reminders along the way.

As for the plot, it was at a mediocre pace that I thought was never going to end, and by the midway point, I was losing track of the members of the “fantastic four” and everyone else thrown in as a diversion. Annalisa Vega, as a detective, is not impressing me and I find her to be a bit on the repetitious and one-dimensional side.

Will I continue with the series? Probably not. I enjoyed the Ellery Hathaway series and had hoped Annalisa Vega would spark the same interest, but that did not happen.

Witches and Wedding Cake

Title: Witches and Wedding Cake
Author: Bailey Cates
Published: July 28th 2020 by Berkley Books
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
Genre: Paranormal Amateur Sleuth
Series: Magical Bakery Mystery #9

First Sentence: “Anytime the afternoon of the sixteenth will work,” I said into my cellphone.

Blurb: Katie will be marrying firefighter Declan McCarthy in less than a week, and she's still finding time to run the Honeybee Bakery, where she infuses sweets and treats with special spells and cheerful charms. But her hope of getting hitched without a hitch is short-lived. When Declan's family shows up early to enjoy a few extra days in Savannah, his youngest sister finds an unsavory surprise: her ex-husband, dead in a hotel room hours after they argued.

The ex was scam artist with a lot of enemies, but the argument puts Declan's sister under suspicion. Between dress fittings and dough-kneading, Katie--along with her witchy friends in the spellbook club--will really have to work some magic to figure out who killed the con man...or there may not be a wedding.

My Opinion: I must not have been in the right frame of mind to read this book since I found every character, and their situations, to be predictable, annoying, and bordering on whiney. Somehow tracking down the murderer of a con man while preparing for a wedding seemed absurd. Let it go, Katie, let it go.

I continue to wish this series was more hedge witchery than amateur sleuth, but since it isn’t, I am glad that Colin made a slight reappearance since he is turning into my favorite character.

Will I continue--of course. I have one more book to get caught up on, and I have a habit of finishing what I start.

The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Title: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
Author: Jamie Ford
Published: August 2nd 2022 by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, Hardcover, 384 pages
Genre: Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

First Sentence: Faye Moy signed a contract stating that she would never marry.

Blurb: Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living.

As Washington’s former poet laureate, that’s how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help.

Through an experimental treatment designed to mitigate inherited trauma, Dorothy intimately connects with past generations of women in her family: Faye Moy, a nurse in China serving with the Flying Tigers; Zoe Moy, a student in England at a famous school with no rules; Lai King Moy, a girl quarantined in San Francisco during a plague epidemic; Greta Moy, a tech executive with a unique dating app; and Afong Moy, the first Chinese woman to set foot in America.

As painful recollections affect her present life, Dorothy discovers that trauma isn’t the only thing she’s inherited. A stranger is searching for her in each time period. A stranger who’s loved her through all of her genetic memories. Dorothy endeavors to break the cycle of pain and abandonment, to finally find peace for her daughter, and gain the love that has long been waiting, knowing she may pay the ultimate price.

My Opinion: I must admit I was concerned when I first picked up this book -- the number of women and the ability to keep their time in history correct worried me. Faye, Dorothy, Afong, Greta, Zoe, Lai, and Annabel are a large cast to remember but don’t worry, that’s the easy part.

Not told linearly, yet easy to keep all the players straight, Jaime Ford opened a new world -- Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance/inherited trauma/generational trauma. Not knowing these strange new words, I had to rabbit trail my way through Google to get a better understanding. Still, a bit confused if the premise was built on literal science or pseudo-science, yet I eventually realized it didn’t matter.

A deep, painful, and satisfying narrative as each woman’s story unfolds. As their lives are laid raw, each woman becomes your favorite, the one you root for most. They each meld together and hold a place in your heart. A heart that will be broken and repaired time and time again.

Historical fiction, fiction-fiction, non-fiction, women’s fiction, speculative fiction, and dystopian fiction all at the same time. And yet, all originating from a true story.

As a side note, don’t skip the acknowledgments. I found them to be just as fascinating as the book itself.

Mint Chocolate Murder

Title: Mint Chocolate Murder
Author: Meri Allen
Published: July 26th 2022 by St. Martin's Press
Format: Kindle, Paperback 304 pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Ice Cream Shop Mysteries #2

First Sentence: After spending ten hours on my feet at the ice cream shop, I longed for a hot bath and a few hours curled up with an Agatha Christie paperback, a glass of pinot noir, and a cuddle with my cat, Rocky.

Blurb: When Udderly Delightful Ice Cream shop manager Riley Rhodes is summoned to Penniman’s Moy Mull Castle, it’s the cherry on top of a successful summer season. The gothic pile built by an eccentric New England Gilded Age millionaire has been transformed into a premiere arts colony by Maud Monaco, a reclusive former supermodel. As part of Moy Mull’s Fall Arts Festival, Maud is throwing a fantasy ice cream social and hires Riley to whip up unique treats to celebrate the opening of an exhibit by Adam Blasco, a photographer as obnoxious as he is talented.

As Penniman fills up with Maud’s art-world friends arriving for the festival, gossip swirls around Blasco, who has a dark history of obsession with his models. Riley’s curiosity and instincts for sleuthing – she was a CIA librarian – are piqued, and she wonders at the hold the cold-hearted photographer has over the mistress of Moy Mull.

But when Adam is found dead behind the locked door of Moy Mull’s dungeon, Riley realizes there’s more than one suspect who’d wanted put the malicious photographer on ice. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The first twenty percent of the book is overly descriptive and does little to move the story forward. You know there will be a murder. You can guess who the victim will be, and you are ninety percent sure who did it and how. So why keep reading. That measly ten percent and the hope you have it wrong.

As you get to the final chapters, you realize you were correct from the beginning. The actual reason became inconsequential, and the reader realized there were many supplementary narratives Meri Allen could have incorporated early on to keep the reader engaged.

Now to the decision — should my radar be on for additional books by this author.

Red Flags

Title: Red Flags
Author: Lisa Black
Published: July 26th 2022, Kenningston
Format: Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Genre: Police Procedural
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Locard Institute Thriller #1)

First Sentence: Few things mobilize people more quickly than a missing child.

Blurb: When D.C. crime scene analyst Dr. Ellie Carr is called to investigate the heartrending case of a missing baby, she’s shocked to discover that the child’s mother is her own cousin. Close during their impoverished childhoods, Ellie and Rebecca eventually drifted apart. Rebecca is now half of a Washington power couple, and she and her wealthy lobbyist husband, Hunter, have been living a charmed life in an opulent mansion—until their infant son is taken.

“Every contact leaves a trace.” That’s the basic principle of forensic science followed by pathologist Dr. Rachael Davies. A reluctant Ellie is teamed with Rachael, employed by Hunter to help with the investigation. Rachael is assistant dean at the prestigious Locard Forensic Institute, named in honor of the French criminologist who inspired the profession. But in this case, discovering where those traces lead quickly becomes a dangerous journey through a web of greed and deadly ambition.

At first antagonists, then allies, Ellie and Rachael race to find the baby alive and bring the kidnappers to justice. What seemed like a simple ransom grab reveals links to a lobbying effort to loosen regulations on a billion-dollar gaming empire. Unless they can piece together the evidence before the Senate hearing, Rebecca’s son—and others like him—will face an unthinkable fate. (GoodReads)

My Opinion: The first four chapters of this book did not mesh well with a vacation brain. Who was that again? Which is the husband? The business owner? The best friend? The mom? Either I needed to slow down or start taking notes.

My brain had grasped onto two characters when the kidnapping was relayed to Ellie, but so glad that I was wrong since that would have been too easy. Instead, I was gut-punched with each revelation and by the last couple of chapters, I realized that Lisa Black left tidbits along the way that only made sense when all was revealed.

To say that I loved this book would be an understatement. The pacing is phenomenal, the lessons along the way regarding insidious online gaming are eye-opening, and the interaction between Rachael and Ellie has me looking forward to the next book in this series.

Murder at the Blueberry Festival

Title: Murder at the Blueberry Festival
Author: Darci Hannah
Published: July 26th 2022, Kensington Books
Format: Kindle, 319 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Beacon Bakeshop #3

First Sentence: Having lived in an old, refurgished lighthouse in Michigan for over a year, I had come to realize a few things.

Blurb: After a career on Wall Street, Lindsey is making a different kind of dough in a pretty lakeside village, and the upcoming blueberry festival—including the pie-eating contest her bakery is hosting—is the highlight of the summer. But soon Beacon Harbor runs into a patch of trouble.

A local real estate agent gets pranked. A parade float gets pelted with water balloons. It’s all laughed off until the stunts start escalating—and looking more like sabotage. As the event turns into a debacle complete with rampaging goats, Lindsey’s sweetheart, a former SEAL, starts investigating. But the juicy mystery takes a bitter turn when a man—dressed up as a Viking—is found dead in a boat, and it’s no longer mischief but murder .

My Opinion: I was beginning to wonder if the murder mystery was going to appear. Thinking that the suspense was only going to involve tracking down a prankster, and decided that I would be ok with that if the pranks remained funny. Then the body appeared, leading to Darci Hannah becoming too obsessed with what sounded like a Dr. Seuss rhyme. After the verse ran its course, things settled a bit, but there were more questions to answer.

Unfortunately, the answers came after a drawn-out repetitive book which had the reader wondering if the author had a direction or resorted to throwing ideas out in the hope something would eventually stick.

I enjoyed the first two books in this series, but this one completely missed the mark.